Q and A with Alon Abramson, founder of West Philly Runners
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
What's this about running in 'thundersnow'?
West Philly Runners meet weekly for runs that end at local bars
Hillary Petrozziello
Hillary Petrozziello
Alon Abramson, 31, is the founder and organizer of West Philly Runners, a four-year-old group of outdoor exercise enthusiasts who meet weekly for two-, four- and six-mile runs that end at local bars. Here, Abramson talks about camaraderie versus competition, the merits of a bar visit after a run and what drives a person to run through "thundersnow."
City Paper: What is the basic premise of West Philly Runners, and how did you guys come to be?
Alon Abramson: A good friend of mine ran into the Fishtown Beer Runners, and came back and told me about this really cool club — "They run and then they go drink, it sounds awesome!" And I was living in West Philly at the time, so I went out with the Fishtown Beer Runners and really loved it, but it started to feel kind of onerous to have to go all the way out to Fishtown to go running. I would rather just have something like that in my neighborhood ... so I kind of decided to just go for it with one friend of mine.
CP: Why end at a bar?
AA: I really fell in love with the idea of adding the going-to-a-bar component as just another social element. In a way it kind of democratizes running. One of the challenges with any running club is that you'll have people who are really fast, experienced runners, and then you'll have people who can't really run far, can't run fast and those two groups during the run are completely divided. Getting everybody together at the end gives all these people a way to bond.
CP: About how many people participate? Are there weekly die-hards as well as occasional runners?
AA: At this point, at our peak in summer and on more mild days, we have almost 50 runners come out. Right now in the colder season, it's more like 23 to 30, which is still a lot.
CP: Is there a competitive aspect to the group?
AA: The ethos of the club and what I try to promote is more friendly and not competitive between the runners. ... I try to promote running more as a personal challenge and the camaraderie around it, rather than [being] adversarial.
CP: Can you please explain the psychology of what brings a person to want to run outdoors in the freezing cold or sweaty heat?
AA: Mainly, [you] just embrace the suck. ... It's a great feeling, knowing it's gonna be rough and doing it anyway. It's like setting a very minor hurdle that you know you can get over and feel super accomplished afterward. That's kind of a big motivator. Plus, you kind of feel like a badass.
CP: I guess I can understand that.
AA: Our tagline is, "We run rain, shine or thundersnow." There actually was a thundersnow about a year ago, and we will go run in that. We'll run in crazy torrential rain — and do it safely. I don't encourage anyone to do anything they're uncomfortable with. If you want to do it, we'll be there.
